Your Guide to How Orange and Blue Make Brown

Last updated: April 28, 2025 by Michelle

Orange and blue embrace the entire color spectrum, from warm and sunny to cool and mysterious. Perhaps that’s why we’re so tempted to combine these two colors. You see orange and blue a lot, from artwork to home decor to sports team uniforms. But putting these colors beside each other is very different from mixing orange and blue to make a new color. Let’s take a look at why.

what does orange and blue make color blending

Mixing orange and blue can help you take your designs, art, and other crafts to the next level. Here, we’ll break down how orange and blue make brown, how to add different tones and shades to your artwork, and how to get the best results from mixing blue and orange.

Mixing Orange and Blue | Complementary Colors | Shades of Brown | Ideas for Blue and Orange | FAQ

What Does Blue Over Orange Make?

what does orange and blue make color wheel

We need to go back to color theory and the color wheel. It can teach us a lot about what happens when we mix orange and blue.

First of all, blue is a primary color. There are only three of these: blue, red, and yellow. You’ll notice orange isn’t on that list. That’s because orange is a secondary color, meaning it comes about by mixing two other colors, namely red and yellow. Of course, mixing colors is not quite as simple as adding one to another and getting the same exact result every time. As you can see above, there are different shades of both orange and blue on the color wheel, and those shades will have a big impact on exactly what you get when you mix orange and blue. We’ll look at that in a bit, but first, we have one more bit of color theory to consider.

Do Orange and Blue Make Brown?

what does orange and blue make paint mixing palette

They do, and that’s because of one additional feature of blue and orange. When you mix the primary color blue with the secondary color orange you get brown because orange and blue are complementary colors, meaning they sit opposite each other on the color wheel. They therefore “cancel” each other out when mixed or produce a vibrant contrast when placed side by side. That’s why when you mix orange and blue you make brown.

When we think of brown, we think of the earth, stability, and dependability. But it can do so much more than that. When you mix orange and blue to make brown, you can get a lot more than the color of dirt. You could get a cooler brown that evokes mysterious shadows or a warmer brown that makes us think of chocolate and warmth. This is a great color for food, landscapes, and even clothes. You can do so much with brown, which is why we’re going to dive deeper into all the shades of brown blue and orange produce.

Mixing Other Shades of Brown from Blue and Orange

what does orange and blue make brown color swatches

If you love art or science, you'll love color mixing — it's a fun visual experiment. Depending on the quantities you use of each color, there are hundreds of lighter and darker blue and orange shades you can create.

You could start your orange and blue experiments by going to a nice, warm orange. Slowly add blue to this color and see what shades of brown you get. Then contrast this by using a cool blue and adding orange to make brown. You might be surprised by how different the results are! The best way of mixing these colors is using paint, simply because it’s the easiest medium for mixing, but you can also experiment with colored pencils, markers, or any other medium you like.

Here are some other colors you can make using orange and blue:

Brown Tints (by Adding White)

Create a tint by using white to lighten your brown blend. You can use tints to add warm brown highlights to an image or soften the brown you get when you mix orange and blue. The colors you’ll get from this include things like buff, tan, and beige. We often find these kinds of neutral colors soothing when they decorate the walls of our living spaces.

Brown Shades (by Adding Black)

You can create a shade by adding black after you use orange and blue to make brown. As the name suggests, you can use these kinds of colors for shadows. A brown with a little black added to it will create much more dynamic and realistic shadows than pure black shadows. These shades can add mystery and drama to your creation.

Brown Tones (with Gray and Brown)

Finally, if you add gray, you’ll get a tone. The gray tones down your brown. This is helpful if you used a bit too much orange or blue when mixing orange and blue to make brown. Maybe you went too strong with the orange and find the resulting mix too bright. Add in little bits of gray slowly and see if you get a better result.

Cooler Browns

Blue is a cool color, so if you mix orange and blue to make brown using a cool blue, you will get a cooler brown. If you want a very cool brown, you should start with blue and add in the orange. This will let you more carefully control how cool the color stays. You could even get something with a bit of a purple tinge.

Warmer Browns

Conversely, orange is very warm, so if you start with orange, you can produce a nice, warm brown color that evokes things like earth and chocolate. When mixing orange and blue to make brown, start from orange if you want a color like burnt sienna or rusty copper. You might get a more crimson-toned orange depending on how you mix.

Best Ideas for Blue and Orange Mixes

what does orange and blue make painting girl

Put orange and blue to the test yourself. Grab your paint brushes or markers and get hands on with mixing orange and blue to make brown. If you aren’t sure where to start, here’s a couple ideas to set you on your way.

Obviously, you can use brown in painting, but as we’ve discussed above, that’s not as simple as slapping some dirt on a landscape. There are a lot of types of brown. Experiment with different blue and orange mixtures to play with shadows and highlights in your painting.

You can also bring more brown into your home decor and wardrobe. We often think of brown as boring, but hopefully now that you know how versatile it is, you’ve changed your opinion. Try a cool brown paired with shades like mauve, or a warm brown matched up with orange or yellow. Or you could be bold and place orange and blue next to each other for a really bold design. You can use brown for a tie-dye project, a homemade playdough recipe, or to paint animals. Or try our FREE coloring sheets to put your new knowledge to the test.

FAQs

If you still have lingering questions, we’re here to help.

What Colors Do Orange and Blue Make?

You can make a whole range of colors by mixing blue and orange. The simplest answer, however, is that orange and blue make brown. As we’ve seen above, that’s a little more complicated. An earthy brown is different from mauve which is different from burnt sienna. It all depends on how you mix.

Does Mixing Blue and Orange Make Green?

While orange and blue typically make brown, you can get some shades of green if you mix it just right. Usually, it’s blue and yellow that make green, but since orange and yellow are somewhat similar, you can get green-ish tones from mixing blue and orange.